Tryggve Gran - Ski Expert(1888 - 1980) - Biographical
notes

Born in Bergen, Norway to a well to do shipbuilding family.
He was recommended by Fridtjof Nansen to Scott as a ski instructor
for Scott's upcoming expedition while in Norway to test the
motor tractor.

Gran was involved in depot laying for the South Pole Party
in January-March 1911, in November that year. He didn't take
any further part in that aspect of the expedition, instead accompanying
a geological journey to the western mountains led by Griffith
Taylor in the austral summer of 1911-1912. The decision for
him to do this rather than take part in the attempt on the Pole
was taken by Scott after Gran had spoken to him and asked to
be assigned to a different task to one that placed him in direct
competition with Amundsen, his fellow countryman. Instead he
spent 13 weeks as one of the second Western Party led by Griffith
Taylor.

Later in 1912, he was part of the search party that found
the dead bodies of the South Pole Party in their final camp
on the Great Ice Barrier (Ross Ice Shelf). He wore Scott's skis
after the tent was collapsed by removal of the poles and a large
snow cairn built over the camp and bodies, so that at least
Scott's skis would make the full journey. Gran took observations
of where the tent was found, in a 1974 interview he said:

"We have never given anybody
the right latitude and longitude because we were afraid
that people would go down and try to find them. As far as
I know, I am the only one who's got the figures, because
I took the observations and wrote them down".Tryggve
Gran

Before leaving Antarctica, he climbed Mount Erebus and had
a near miss when an eruption ejected large pumice blocks. On
his return he was awarded the Polar Medal by George V.

He became interest in flying on his return from Antarctica
and was a pioneer of early aviation, being the first person
to fly across the North Sea in a heavier than air aircraft,
a Bleriot monoplane after training at Bleriot's aviation school
in Paris . He was rejected from volunteering for the Royal Flying
Corps at the outbreak of the WW1 as he was a neutral Norwegian,
and so joined under an assumed name posing as a Canadian "Captain
Teddy Grant". He received the Norwegian Order of St, Olav and
British Distinguished Service Cross and Military Cross during
the war. In 1928 he led the search for Roald Amundsen when his
plane went missing (as Amundsen requested Gran do so in advance
of the possible event), while himself searching for the missing
Italian aviator Umberto Nobile, neither Amundsen nor Nobile
were ever found.

In the Second World War he became a member of a Norwegian
fascist party during the German occupation, his status being
used for publicity, he was jailed for 18 months for treason
in 1948. Sometimes referred to as the last surviving member
of the Terra Nova expedition as he died in 1980, though a stoker
on the ship, William Burton died in 1988. Gran gave over 1,000
lectures in Norway about Scott's expedition and remained very
loyal to Scott resenting slurs on his reputation.

"Scott was a man. He would always
listen to you. Amundsen would listen to nobody. He was only
interested in himself. So Amundsen, as a human being, was
not worth much, but Scott was worth a lot as a human being.
So, you can say Amundsen was a gentleman dressed up, but
his mind was not a gentleman's mind. But Scott was a gentleman.Tryggve Gran

The Western Party after being
rescuedMay 16th 1911, l to r: Taylor, Debenham,
Gran, Forde

Tryggve Gran

Western party just after being
rescued by the shipl to r Forde, Debenham,
Taylor, Gran - Feb 15th 1912

Geological party Granite Harbour
1912Gran seated left is taking the picture
with a string to operate the camera

References to Tryggve Gran by
Cherry-Garrard in "The Worst Journey in the World"

These Glacier Tongue crevasses are shallow things;
Gran fell into one later and walked out
of the side of the Tongue on to the sea-ice beyond!

Gran's pony, Weary Willie, a sluggish
and obstinate animal, was far behind, as usual, when we
halted our ponies at the camping place. Farther off the
dog-teams were coming up. What happened never became clear.
Poor Weary, it seems, was in difficulties in a snow-drift:
the dogs of one team being very hungry took charge of their
sledge and in a moment were on the horse, to all purposes
a pack of ravenous wolves. Gran and Weary
made a good fight and the dogs were driven off, but Weary
came into camp without his sledge, covered with blood and
looking very sick.

There was no sugar at the hut except what the dogs
had brought in, so Gran, who was quite
fresh, volunteered to get a couple of bags from the depot
at Safety Camp, which could plainly be seen out on the Barrier.
We all went to the edge of the slope to see him go down
it on ski. He did it splendidly and must have been going
with the speed of an express train down the incline, as
he was on the Barrier in an incredibly short time compared
to the hours we had dragged up the same slope with the loads.
Teddy, Titus and Keohane were left at the camp to be joined
by Gran later.

At a point about 9000 feet up, Priestley, Gran,
Abbott and Hooper started to make the ascent to the active
crater on December 10.

But when they had got 500 feet down Priestley found that
he had left a tin of exposed films on the top instead of
the record. Gran said he would go back
and change it. He had reached the top when there was a loud
explosion: large blocks of pumice were hurled out with a
big smoke cloud; probably a big bubble had burst.
Gran was in the middle of it, heard it
gurgle before it burst, saw "blocks of pumiceous lava, in
shape like the halves of volcanic bombs, and with bunches
of long, drawn-out, hair-like shreds of glass in their interior."This
was Pele's hair. Gran was a bit sick from
sulphur dioxide fumes afterwards. They reached Cape Royds
on the 16th, the very successful trip taking fifteen days.

References to Tryggve Gran by
Scott in "Scott's Last Expedition"

We have all been away on ski on the large floe to which
we anchored this morning. Gran is wonderfully
good and gives instruction well.

After breakfast we served out ski to the men of the landing
party. They are all very keen to learn, and Gran
has been out morning and afternoon giving instruction.

Gran tried going on ski with his pony.
All went well while he was alongside, but when he came up
from the back the swish of the ski frightened the beast,
who fled faster than his pursuer - that is, the pony and
load were going better than the Norwegian on ski.

Gran is doing very well. He has a lazy
pony and a good deal of work to get him along, and does
it very cheerfully.

So we are resting in our tents, waiting to start to-night.
Gran has gone back for the snow-shoes -
he volunteered good-naturedly - certainly his expertness
on ski is useful.

Landmarks named after Tryggve Gran

Feature Name: Gran GlacierType: Glacier Latitude:
76°56'S Longitude: 161°14'E
Description: A glacier flowing
S into Mackay Glacier between Mounts Gran and Woolnough. It
rises from a snow divide with Benson Glacier to the northeast.
Named after Mount Gran by the New Zealand Northern Survey Party
of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) (1956-58),
which visited the area in November 1957.

Key:1 - first winter2 - second winter
iW - first western partyiiW - second western partyN - northern
party

D - depot laying for south pole journeyP - south pole party
C - winter journey to Cape CrozierS - search party for south Pole
partyPo - reached
South Pole

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